The Ant Tunnel
Underground Dungeon
Where to go now?
Rumiel looked around briefly, pondering her next destination.
From Ojakgyo, there were many places she could go to.
The Warrior's Village connected along the rocky mountain.
There, one could watch the muscular warriors training, and occasionally play pranks with the bugs that appeared.
Ah, how about sitting by the campfire with the bugs and roasting skewers of salt rocks on the spot?
Since the bugs could use fire magic, it would make for a good memory.
'Hmm, or maybe...'
The Mage's Village with its peaceful and laid-back atmosphere also didn't seem bad.
There, one could meet sweet tree sap and fairies.
When Rumiel first visited that village in the game, she remembered being blessed by the fairies surrounding her.
'I want to try the tree sap too.'
The Thief's Village is also fine.
This place has a different atmosphere from the other villages.
The uncle who seems to be the instructor always spouts lines like "Those who want to become thieves, come to me..." in a middle-schooler way, appearing from the darkness.
It was truly the world of darkness, with a mysterious atmosphere where shadows were thick everywhere, which was appealing.
Of course, it was just the atmosphere, in reality it was a bit of a thief den, though.
'Is that bat instructor still doing the same thing even now.'
The Pirate's Village is also a good place.
People there were always laughing and having fun everywhere.
The feature was that one could see cute marine creatures.
From giant turtles to jellyfish floating around.
Sometimes, the squids would play pranks by hugging characters from the game.
Some people with weird tastes even requested commissions for that scene...
And finally, the Archer's Village.
A place where cute mushrooms jump around, one with nature.
If you follow the neat paths, you can see mushrooms jumping here and there.
There were many cute little monsters, creating a peaceful atmosphere, but if you go deep into the forest, the Tree Giants that appear have high levels and defense, and I remember struggling quite a bit in my newbie days.
'Where to go...'
Rumiel's thoughts deepened.
She stopped for a moment and looked around.
But soon, there was one place that caught Rumiel's gaze.
The center of Ojakgyo, the roots of the giant tree.
There, an old signboard stood.
[Warning: Dangerous Area]
[Cannot guarantee survival upon entry]
A large skull pattern engraved portal
The moment Rumiel saw that portal, her eyes sparkled.
'Here.'
This place is the underground dungeon.
It's a dungeon that is on a completely different dimension from the other villages, from the atmosphere to the level of the monsters that appear.
It's truly the end content of the initial continent.
But Rumiel headed to the entrance of the dungeon with a light step.
Even though it's end content, it's a dungeon that came out in the early days anyway.
Rumiel already knew the boss of the underground dungeon, the map structure, the location of hidden bosses, and the strategies inside and out.
As she stepped one step into the interior of the underground dungeon, the noise of the outside world gradually faded.
It felt like walking into a deep abyss.
Rumiel passed the dungeon entrance and recalled memories of wandering here in the past.
In her newbie days, she had gotten lost here and wandered around all day.
And finally,
She arrived at the underground village.
At the village entrance, there was a guard.
But he was dozing off, bowing from his standing position.
"Uuuu..."
Rumiel glanced at him once and lightly shook her head.
Just like before, an unchanged guy.
Even in the game, he always did this.
If a user talked to him, he wouldn't respond or just ramble nonsense while half-asleep.
Even though there was a warning sign saying this was a dangerous area, the one actually guarding it was in this state...
'That's why users could come in freely.'
Rumiel looked at the guard once more, then moved into the village.
The village in the underground dungeon had a completely different atmosphere from the outside.
Gloomy and quiet inside.
It gave off a feeling of a ruin with no liveliness at all.
Strange-looking statues were placed here and there.
Their faces looked like they were whispering something, and there seemed to be an old magical aura.
Thinking about it, even in the game, that statue was always a mystery.
Among users, there were many theories that it was related to a hidden quest that wasn't implemented yet, but in the end, nothing was revealed.
Just a one-line comment from the developer that it was just a background object, and all speculations ended in vain.
'Still, it somehow bothers me.'
Rumiel casually stroked the statue.
A wet mossy texture was felt.
As she walked along the path, there was an herb shop on one side.
He was sitting blankly, staring into space with unfocused eyes.
Looking at him who seemed to be dozing off, Rumiel gave him a light smile and headed deeper into the dungeon.
At the end of the village, the entrance to the dungeon.
A swampy place with wet moss covering the floor.
There was a stone door engraved with a large skull pattern.
And in front of it, something was slithering around.
[Lv.25 Old Drake]
A dinosaur-like creature twice as large as Rumiel.
They were wandering in the dark space, breathing heavily.
Their skin was rough, and their long split claws scraped the ground repeatedly.
Rumiel slowly looked at them with sparkling eyes.
It was amazing, but there was no time to pay attention to the Drakes now.
Rumiel's destination was deeper into this dungeon.
Rumiel naturally lifted her feet slightly and activated her skill.
Holy Road
Instantly, Rumiel's body moved forward smoothly, slicing through the air.
The Drakes detected her presence, but by then, Rumiel's figure had already disappeared from their sight.
The dungeon fell silent again.
Just like nothing had happened, the original darkness covered it.
However——
-15,000,000,000 HP
Static.
And,
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The huge figures disappeared as if exploding.
The Drakes didn't even realize that they had died.
Not a single fragment or last word remained.
Just a few small coins and useless items fell to the ground.
In an instant, everything ended.
The Priest's movement skill, [Holy Road]
Normally, it was just a simple movement skill.
It was mainly used for quickly moving on the battlefield or avoiding enemy attacks, rather than for combat.
But for Priests, after the 6th class change, they could acquire an additional passive called [Teleport Mastery].
If they acquired this skill, a slight magic damage judgment was added to the simple movement skill [Holy Road].
Normally, the damage was at a level that was almost unnoticeable, so among users, it was evaluated as 'almost meaningless additional effect'.
Because the per-damage itself was low, and with a normal Priest's mana stat, it was difficult to expect actual dealing effect.
But, there was an additional effect that increased damage in proportion to the wearer's mana value.
This condition was the problem.
Even if the base per-damage was low, Rumiel's mana value was far beyond the standard for normal Priests.
That's why the Drakes disappeared without even realizing they were dead.
¤
Rumiel heading to the deeper part of the underground dungeon felt the air getting thicker and damper.
The moss on the floor became even slipperier, and puddles formed here and there.
Passing through a narrow, huge split that looked like the entrance, Rumiel's eyes were met with an endless stretch of huge underground tunnel.
Rumiel's eyes sparkled.
It was a familiar sight.
This place was the Ant Tunnel.
In the past game, one of the hunting grounds Rumiel often visited in her newbie days.
This place located in the dark cave was full of high-level monsters, good efficiency but notoriously bad terrain.
At that time, countless red eyes floated in the darkness.
[Lv.33 Lively Drake]
Different from other Drakes, the Drakes inhabiting the Ant Tunnel were more agile and fast-moving individuals.
They spotted a dumb prey standing blankly in front of their eyes, smacked their lips.
Then, they immediately rushed towards Rumiel.
With powerful hind legs, they pushed off the ground powerfully, revealing sharp teeth, tearing at the body of the female in front of their eyes——
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At that moment, the Drakes' thoughts stopped.
With a moment of flash, Rumiel's body disappeared.
And——
-15,000,000,000 HP
The Drakes' figures disappeared as if exploding.
They collapsed helplessly, one by one, as if crumbling in the darkness.
Without knowing anything, without any resistance.
Quietness returned to the dungeon again.
No monsters left.
In the silence, Rumiel quietly moved her steps.
Faint light was visible from afar.
Rumiel instinctively stopped her steps.
Her eyes sparkled.
The central part of the giant Ant Tunnel.
There, the thing Rumiel had searched for and searched for again was located.
A small, shabby food stall.
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